Could the United States government conceive of carrying out attacks against the American people under the pretext that the attacks came from a foreign enemy? We have to look back only 40 years to find that the answer is yes.

The plan was called Operation Northwoods and it called for engaging in such unsavory activities as assassination, hijacking airplanes, blowing up ships, orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S. cities, and even blowing up John Glenn's space capsule, while pinning the blame on Fidel Castro.
"We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba," wrote the military, and, "casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation."

This was not a "rogue" operation, or loners acting outside the government. These plans were devised by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and were presented to President Kennedy's defense secretary, Robert McNamara, in 1962. The Kennedy administration rejected the plan, but pretext operations would continue to be drawn up as late as 1963. Among these were to create a war between Cuba and another Latin American country so the U.S. could intervene, and paying someone in Castro's government to attack Guantanamo Bay.

It should be noted that it was the objections of Robert McNamara, and his revelation of the plot to Kennedy which prevented this operation from occurring. It was Kennedy McNamara and who rejected the nuclear first strike option during the Cuban Missile crisis and negotiated a peaceful resolution, saving the world from annihilation. These were the so-called "leftists"ˇelements which no longer exist in the executive branch today (either of them). In fact, if there is a conspiracy, it is likely originating from the executive branch.

Then there is the Kennedy assassination itself, which has been examined with exhausting detail over the years, revealing that there were almost certainly conspiratorial elements behind the assassination. This tenet has received widespread acceptance by the public.

Yet despite this, nothing definitive has been brought to light to indict any of the conspirators to this day.

The Rise of Hitler

It may be considered crass by some to compare the rise of the current administration to that of Hitler's regime. While no accusations are being made, only the surface historical similarities between those events and now are being considered as merely a cautionary note, and a proof that sometimes a path, once started, leads to an unforeseen conclusion.

There was a great fear in the capitals of Europe at the time from the threat of Communism. Towards the end of World War I, the Bolshevik revolution in Russia toppled the Czar and installed a totalitarian dictatorship. Russia's strategic position and military might were a matter of grave concern. It was felt that the threat of Communism could spread like a virus to all of Europe. It was especially a concern in Russia's perennial enemy Germany, which was plagued by unemployment and labor unrest, and whose currency had become nearly worthless.

In 1933, through a series of backroom deals and political intrigues, Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of a bankrupt, chaotic and divided Germany on the verge of Civil War.

Hitler convinced German President Hindenburg to hold new elections on March 5 of that year, and Hitler believed the Nazi party would gain control of the legislature. The Nazis controlled the courts, and had the backing of the major industrial powers and bankers, who believed Hitler would be "good for business." They blanketed the nation with propaganda from all media outlets.

Then in late February, shortly before the elections, the German parliament building, the Reichstag, was set ablaze by an arsonist.

The arson was blamed on a 24-year-old Dutch Communist named Marianus Van Der Lubbe. He allegedly confessed to the crime and was quickly tried and executed.

The Nazis used the public fear of the Communists to establish their dictatorship. Just as today, the opposition parties were cowed into silence in the face of an external threat. Hitler grabbed more and more power. An emergency decree was passed the very next day that stated:

"Restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press; on the rights of assembly and association; and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed."

Similar to today's ongoing and never-ending terror alerts, frenzied news reports of Communist plots continued to circulate in the press. The Nazis vowed to prove the fire was part of a vast Communist plot to take over Germany. Their propaganda emphasized that only they could control the threat to the nation. Despite this effort, they won only 40 percent of the legislature.

As with Bush, Hitler faced increasingly vocal concern about his measures, and an opposition party controlling the legislature. His tactic was to get an enabling act passed, giving him essentially dictatorial powers and rendering the legislature irrelevant.

On March 23, the newly elected Reichstag met in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin to consider passing Hitler's Enabling Act. It was officially called the "Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich." If passed, it would in effect vote democracy out of existence in Germany and establish the legal dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.

Just as today, the public was assured that the sweeping new emergency powers would never be used unjustly against its own citizens. In a speech before the deciding vote, Hitler told the lawmakers, "The government will make use of these powers only insofar as they are essential for carrying out vitally necessary measures . . . The number of cases in which an internal necessity exists for having recourse to such a law is in itself a limited one."

And, much like today, Hitler pledged to end the chronic unemployment facing his country, and to promote peace, not war, with Germany's enemies: Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.

The vote was takenˇ441 for, and only 84, the Social Democrats, against. The Nazis could now control the German political process and declare war at any time, against any foe, without the legislature. Far from aghast, much of the German public would support Hitler and the Nazis through 1945, by which time Germany would be reduced to rubble.

It should be clear from the above that there was no widespread feeling in Germany that it was becoming a dictatorship. Opposition forces were silenced by propaganda and public ostracism. Dissenters were tried in secret and killed, or sent to the camps. No one knew the true motives behind the Nazi party. Money and propaganda were the tools the Nazis used to devastating effect.

People believe that our great nation, which has always been on the right side of history, will never walk that insidious path. But this is more a matter of faith then of fact. Ever since that dark period, historians, writers and philosophers have wrestled with the agonizing question: "How did it happen," and more importantly, "Could it happen again?" We should be asking, "Could it happen here?"

The Scenario

We now know that the military has planned terrorist operations against Americans as a pretext for war. To deny that a 9˝11 conspiracy is even possible is, quite simply, to deny history.

What if this time, the plans were carried out? Furthermore, given the after effects, what if this is part of a larger plan to dismantle American democracy? One more catastrophic event, and the U.S. could easily become a dictatorship.

Extreme? Perhaps. But consider the facts:

* Consider the fact that the anthrax attacks were almost certainly designed to foment war with Iraq, and that the anthrax itself came from U.S. government labs.

* Consider the fact that stock bets were made with insider knowledge of the attacks, and placed at a bank formerly run by the CIA chief.

* Consider the fact that the U.S. was planning to attack Afghanistan as early as July.

* Consider the fact that the U.S. apparently rewarded, and then threatened the Taliban after Bush took office.

* Consider the fact that the shadow government was activated shortly after the attacks and kept a secret. * Consider the fact that the Office of Homeland Security is working on emergency plans involving martial law.

* Consider the fact that the government can now legally spy on Americans much more easily and without constitutional and legal roadblocks.

* Consider the fact that the president can define terrorism, and that the attorney general can choose what groups are considered "terrorists" without legal oversight.

* Consider the Pentagon planning an office to propagandize noncombatants.

* Consider the fact that Bush's policies now receive unthinking support from the public, even though he received fewer votes than his opponent in the election.

* Consider the numerous government figures that have said that the "war" will not end in our lifetime.

* Consider the fact that both Bush and Cheney asked Congress to back off the 9˝11 investigations.

* Consider the fact that Afghanistan is a major prize for the oil industry, and Bush's government is largely oil executives backed by large energy concerns.

* Consider that the Iran-Contra conspirators drew up plans to declare martial law and suspend the Constitution, and that some of these men are now back in power.

* Consider that two of the hijackers were wanted by the CIA, and that nine of the hijackers were selected for security screenings but were allowed to board their flights.

* Consider that terrorism investigators were told to back off investigating the Saudis and Osama bin Laden's siblings.

* Consider the fact that bin Laden's siblings lived close to CIA headquarters, and near a place listed by four hijackers as their address, and that they were allowed to leave the country while thousands of other Muslims were rounded up.

* Consider that former president Bush is a known friend of the bin Laden family, and works for a company that had the bin Ladin Group as an investor, a company which now stands to make billions from the war.

If we can spend $70 million to investigate the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas, isn't there enough evidence to warrant an investigation into these 9˝11 connections, especially considering the gravity of what we're facing?

If we accept the fact that government agents can mail deadly anthrax to our citizens, as we must at this point, why couldn't they be capable of at least permitting an attack for their own benefit?

What if the former Iran/Contra conspirators decided to take a page from Hitler's playbook and manufacture a crisis? Moreover, a crisis that would give them unquestioning public support and make them very, very rich?

Please don't take my word for it. Make up your own mind, don't let the government or press make it for you. I'm not a journalist. I don't have insider knowledge. I'm just a concerned citizen with a modem who is worried about what is happening to our country. I've included every reference and source I used at the end of every article. I've intentionally relied on well-known respectable news sources. Most of these are available online. Please, please, please, go check them out yourself, and don't let your political or patriotic feelings get in the way. Remember, American democracy and freedom are greater than any president or administration. We are still free. Only we can make sure it stays that way.